K-Pop band BTS draws overnight lines of hundreds to Oracle Arena

BTS attends the 2017 American Music Awards at Microsoft Theater on November 19, 2017 in Los Angeles.

BTS attends the 2017 American Music Awards at Microsoft Theater on November 19, 2017 in Los Angeles.

Photo: Hahn Lionel, TNS

Photo: Hahn Lionel, TNS

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BTS attends the 2017 American Music Awards at Microsoft Theater on November 19, 2017 in Los Angeles.

BTS attends the 2017 American Music Awards at Microsoft Theater on November 19, 2017 in Los Angeles.

Photo: Hahn Lionel, TNS

K-Pop band BTS draws overnight lines of hundreds to Oracle Arena

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People have been waiting outside Oakland's Oracle Arena since Monday. They're not holding out for entry into a show featuring Paul McCartney, or Beyonce, or Taylor Swift; they're waiting for BTS.

For those not acquainted with the Korean K-Pop scene, the popularity of the musical group BTS is akin to Beatlemania or *NSYNC circa 2000. So when the group announced an American tour with a stop in Oakland, the seven-person group's Bay Area fans planned to get there early. Real early.

As KGO reported, hundreds of people from all over Northern California have gradually added themselves to the queue since Monday for Wednesday night's show. Many of the seats inside are assigned, but the masses outside are hoping to secure prime standing room on the floor near the stage. By Wednesday, KPIX reports, the amount of people waiting numbered into the thousands.

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"They make really good music and they are seven humble guys," fan Junior Saeturn told KGO. "They do so much for us we just want to give back to them. They give us life advice through their music and they teach us how to love ourselves and feel confident with ourselves and it's a really powerful message they send to their fans."

New York's Isabelle Bone, perhaps the biggest fan, is holding a place at the front of the line in Oakland, according to KPIX. She had already caught the first three BTS concerts in Los Angeles, and is planning to return to New York to see the final two concerts.

"We can resonate with them so much because they used to put out band fan bombs on YouTube video of them just goofing around, doing stupid things," Bone said. "We thought that was funny."

If reports of the long, serpentine line aren't enough to steer off fans without tickets, there's also the price gouging. The lowest price for a ticket to the show is $513 on Stubhub, and that's for a seat at the back of the arena. Those with more spending power can get a club-level seat near the stage — for $2,500 each.

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